New documentary highlights refugees' soccer triumph at Chicago's Sullivan High

Roger’s Park is home to refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants. Sullivan High School soccer team is made up of 14 different players from 13 different countries. (Anthony Pellino)

It was a moment to savor: Deep into overtime, Sullivan High School soccer player Rafael Santos launched a looping strike from 30 yards, curling it just over the goalkeeper’s fingers for the score that gave the Chicago school its first regional championship.

Now that moment, captured by New York filmmaker Anthony Pellino toward the end of the 2016 season, will live on. Pellino recently finished “Sullivan,” a short film chronicling the immigrant-rich team, and it’s available for online viewing.

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Pellino, 23, normally works in commercial production but said he was inspired to follow the team after reading a 2015 Tribune story about its struggles and triumphs.

He and a small crew made three trips to Chicago to film Sullivan’s playoff push and interview the athletes, finally crafting a six-minute short that tells the story of this unique team.

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“Some of these kids have been through such sad things in life, but they’re just so happy,” Pellino said. “When they play soccer, they’re just at peace. All their positivity, all their love is funneled through this game. I’ve never seen anything like what these kids have.”

Anthony Pellino, a New York filmmaker, recently finished “Sullivan,” a short film chronicling the immigrant-rich Sullivan High School soccer team. Above is a screen shot of a player from the film. (Anthony Pellino photo)

Sullivan is located in Rogers Park, a Far North Side neighborhood that is home to thousands of refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants. The school’s boys soccer team reflects that diversity, fusing players from all over the world into a cohesive unit.

The film focuses on athletes who escaped dire circumstances in Tanzania, Mexico, Congo and other countries, and who are struck by the contrast between their past lives and their new ones.

“Life here is easier,” one player says. “People go to work, get money, but in Rwanda, it’s very tough to get a job. … The way soccer helped me out is it connected me to people. … It introduced me to people who will help me have a better future.”

The film also features the martial coaching style of Migert Baburi, a native of Albania who fled unrest in his homeland two decades ago.

“That’s war on that field,” he says in the film. “It’s you against me. … There aren’t tanks against these kids. There is no airplane throwing bombs at them on that field. That’s a war they can win, and they can win by will.

“And that’s why I talk to them the way I do: so they can unleash that pain, make the other side feel the pain they felt in their lives.”

Baburi said in an interview that the film accurately captures how he tries to guide and motivate his players, and not just for soccer.

Many refugees get accustomed to having their needs met by social service organizations, he said, and don’t prepare themselves for the day when they must fend for themselves.

“I try to hone those skills they learn in the tough times to keep them sharp,” he said.

Sullivan senior Thang Khup, 18, one of the athletes featured in the documentary, said the film is a keepsake of a meaningful time.

“That’s my legacy for Sullivan — what we did, how hard we worked as a team,” he said. “When I have a kid, or a grandson or granddaughter, I’ll explain how hard it was and how we did it together.”

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Pellino said that while he plans to enter the film in documentary festivals, sports stories are a highly competitive category. But even if “Sullivan” doesn’t venture far beyond its online home, Pellino said it’s the kind of movie he wants to keep making.

“I really want to tell stories of perseverance and resilience,” he said. “I saw a brotherhood forming from this common connection to the game. This school gave them the opportunity to meet so many different people and become this juggernaut of a team.”